Headlines

Tonight we will be holding our ‘Sausage Sizzle’ for current Year 7 families. The new Fo$S committee have worked hard with the school to get this ready and the sizzle will be opened by some of our Sixth Form musicians. It will be great to meet new families as they start their journey through the school and we will report more next week, post event.

Thank you to those who have already responded to NHS vaccination forms that have been sent home to students 12 to 16 at the school. A number of Hertfordshire Secondary Schools have already hosted the NHS to deliver vaccinations to students, and they will be visiting Sandringham in October. As you know, vaccination is discretionary and overseen by the NHS not the school. If you do have any questions about the processes, please contact the NHS directly who will be able to help you on 01727 732062 or hct.immsenquiries@nhs.net.

We heard yesterday that the government is committed to delivering public examinations for GCSE, BTEC and A-level qualifications next summer. The details are now being considered and we will be communicating directly with Year 11, 12 and 13 students soon to let them know what they need to do to prepare for them.

It has also been another busy week of Open Morning Tours, sports fixtures and extra curricular trips, more details of which are featured elsewhere in the Sandprint.

Finally from me, the DfE have confirmed that students and staff should continue to test twice weekly from the end of September. Additional testing kits have been ordered and will be distributed to students as soon as they are available. Thank you in advance for continuing to test regularly – this is really important and helps us to maintain the safest environment possible at the school.

With best wishes,

Mr A Gray
Headteacher

Upcoming Dates

04th Oct - Theme Week: Black History / Show Racism a Red Card
06th Oct - 9:00 AM Open Morning Tour
08th Oct - Years 12 & 13 Visit to the Knit and Stitch Show
08th Oct - Silver DofE Practice Expedition Weekend
11th Oct - 1:00 PM Last Choir Standing

Absence Line

Phone: 01727 799564

Absence Email: (Available 24 hours) absence@sandringham.aetrust.uk

Please report ALL absences before 9:15am on the first day of absence and every morning thereafter.

Mr S Kemp
Assistant Headteacher

Headteacher Commendations

Aspiration

Confidence

Initiative

Nico C10SGeography
Sophie C9SArt

Integrity

School News

CAREERS NEWS

We are so pleased that the Year 11 Work Experience has taken place this week after it was postponed in Year 10 due to Covid restrictions. The placements have been in a range of places from pre-schools to architecture firms, theatre companies to retail shops, legal firms to building companies and everything in between. A huge thank you to the Careers team for co-ordinating this week and to any parents who have allowed students into their working environment. The feedback has been that our students are punctual, polite and hard-working- a real credit to Sandringham- so thank you also to them for embracing this new challenge so whole-heartedly. 

CHARACTER OF THE WEEK: RICHARD PHILLIPS FEYNMAN

I3 is named after Richard Phillips Feynman, a theoretical physicist who developed the Parton model, contributed to the research of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium and whom we believe shows the character trait- Resilience.

Born in America in May 1918, Keyman was influenced from an early age by his father who taught him critical thinking. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he majored in electrical engineering and his investigation of the lack of viscosity of liquid helium presented led him to develop an explanation using a quantum-mechanical explanation. He was one of the first people to help conceptualize quantum computers and also produced “The Feynman Lectures of Physics” which were a series of lectures  designed to help support the education of students at Caltech. In 1954 he was awarded the “Albert Einstein Award” , and  in 1980 he was awarded the “National Medal of Science for Physical Science”. Feynman famously developed the Feynman diagrams, revolutionary for helping scientists do relativistic quantum mechanical calculations and he is famous for saying ‘Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible."

ENGLISH NEWS

On Thursday 23rd September, A Level Literature students from Year 12 accompanied by a few students from Years 11 and 13 travelled to Windsor to watch a performance of Hamlet, at Theatre Royal. It was a beautiful evening and a smooth journey meant we were able to walk by the river before the play began. It was exciting to watch Sir Ian McKellen as the protagonist in this age-blind performance, and impressive that on the night we attended, it was the eighty-two-year-old actor's eighty-second consecutive performance. Students and staff thoroughly enjoyed the night that was particularly special due to it being our first faculty trip since the re-opening of theatres. 


 

Mrs A Nicholls

STAFF NEWS

As you may have read last term, our wonderful Music teacher, Mrs Beaton, received a Silver Pearson's Teaching Award. Here she is pictured at the official award celebration event at the National Gallery. This was a well-deserved award for Mrs Beaton, who goes above and beyond inspiring a love of Music in our students. Well done! It looks like a fantastic day out. For those of you new to the school, pictured below are the other Sandringham winners of a Pearson Award last term. All of the staff here work exceptionally hard but these five have been recognised in particular for their efforts last year.

CAMHS RECORDS UPDATE

We are in the process of updating our records for the CAMHS' status of students. If your child has started with CAMHS in the last year, or finished recently, please could you let emma.coyne@sandringham.herts.sch.uk know. Many thanks

Emma Coyne

THEME WEEK: DRAWING WEEK


Our 2021 Drawing Week theme, Make the Change, is a timely development on last year’s exploration into the relationship between people and our living environments. In 2021, we desire to encourage our students to take action, to explore and discover ways to live in balance with the world around us, to reconnect with each other and create a better world for future generations. We have worked with students this week to creatively explore our collective experience of what it means to be human, with all its commonality, vast differences and diversity.

Our whole school assembly encouraged students to reflect upon their role as change makers and how they could represent their thoughts and ideas through drawing. Isaac C and Jessie B encouraged students to consider how artists had created artwork that expressed their desire for positive change for good. 

We would like to thank all of our students for sharing their ideas with us this week.

Miss K Wills

NOTICE RE LATERAL FLOW TESTING

The government have confirmed that students should continue to use lateral flow tests at home twice a week. The school recommends testing on Wednesday and Sunday. We will continue to provide tests to families and would ask that details are uploaded via the links on the school website.

Mr M Nicholls

HOUSE NEWS

This week’s table sees Turing retain their lead, with Shakespeare in 2nd and Austen 3rd. There will be more House Events later in the term, but in the meantime, it's great to see students working hard and earning points for their house. 

Mr A Cracknell

MFL NEWS

This week Mr Williams and Miss Baikie spoke to Year 7 about their language learning journey at Sandringham. They talked to them about the High Frequency Vocabulary Project and the importance of getting into good learning habits for learning vocabulary on a regular basis. They have encouraged them to find someone who will test them regularly to support them with this. This applies to all language learners at Sandringham. The whole MFL team have been really impressed with the start students have made and look forward to seeing what they can do!

 

Miss F Baikie

DANCE NEWS

Yesterday evening was the first time in almost 2 years since the Dance department have arranged a theatre trip, and it was A-MA-ZING!! Students left feeling inspired by Akram Khan's 'Creature' which draws upon themes of abandonment, and fragility of the mind; this is a tale of an outsider and the search for belonging. We will be back again next week with A level students at Sadlers Wells Theatre seeing critically acclaimed director and choreographer, Matthew Bourne, and his company's new work, 'The Midnight Bell'.   

Miss A Davies

DANCE NEWS 2

Dance Clubs

It has been great to see so many new faces each week at all our dance clubs. The Dance Faculty are taking every opportunity to offer as many styles of dance as possible either at lunchtime or after school- so get involved, bring a friend with you, and try something new! See timetable above and sign up now!

Dance uniform

Please look on google classroom for the google form to complete for ordering the sizes for our Dance Faculty uniform. Deadline for uniform and payment is Friday 1st October.

Miss A Davies

MUSIC NEWS

This week, Year 9 Music Tech module spent some time with the departments brand new electronic drum kit. They had a go at some drumming patterns, as well as connecting it to Logic to add a drum beat to their own projects and did brilliantly! This was funded by the money raised from the music concerts we were able to run last year, so thank you to everyone supported them by buying a ticket.

For anyone else interested in having a go at our new drum kit, Sandringham Record Label is on Mondays after school and is a great opportunity to learn about music technology and making your own music.

Miss A Stothard

MATHEMATICS NEWS: PUZZLE OF THE WEEK

Every week the Mathematics Faculty publish a puzzle for you to try.  For every entry you will receive 1 housepoint, if you answer correctly you will win 2 housepoints and if you are the fastest person to answer the puzzle correctly then you will win 5 housepoints!  To enter, simply scan the QR code and fill out the google form.  Good luck!

Miss H Fryer

YEAR 7 and YEAR 12 PHOTOGRAPHS

This week we received the photographs for Year 7 and 12 that parents had ordered through the website. If you didn't place an order and wish to do so, you can still go to www.getphotos.co.uk, where it will allow you to set up an account and enter the passcode on the slip given to your child a few weeks ago.

If you have lost the code, please contact Melissa.holian@sandringham.herts.sch.uk. As the deadline has passed for ordering with free delivery to school, there is now a £3.50 delivery cost. But if you have a sibling at the school , you can wait until the Year 8-11 photographs are taken on 1st November and add it to that order to ensure free delivery.

SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

We have 1 month left of our Good to Grow scheme. In our first week we have already received 161 tokens, thank you to all of our collectors. We have the aspirational target of 5000 tokens which would be used on the following (in order of preference):

  • Compost bins = 2000   

  • Class of gardening gloves = 1500 

  • Meadow flower seeds = 465   

  • Butterfly attracting seed packs = 135

  • Watering cans = 390   Spray mister = 95

  • Plant labels = 65  Gorilla bucket = 200

  • Widger and dibber set = 110 

Every £10 spent in store = 1 token.  Don’t forget to scan if you spend any more than £10 in one shop!

Ms J Malone

CHARITY NEWS

It is the London Marathon this Sunday, so a huge good luck to anyone taking part. A little reminder that Year 7 Form Tutor, Ms Barnett, is running for Hospice UK. If you would like to sponsor her the link is here. Good luck Ms Barnett! 

Mrs J Barnett

EXTRA CURRICULAR CLUBS

It has been fantastic to see students back enjoying extra-curricular activities again. Pictured here are some students engaging in a tense game of Chess. There is still time to join clubs using the SOCS link so please encourage students to do so if they haven't already. There is something for everyone!

SEND NEWS

DSPL is a Hertfordshire-wide partnership approach where parents, carers, staff in early years settings and schools, further education colleges, local authority officers and representatives from other agencies, work together as part of an Area Group, to ensure that there is a range of provision and support services available in their local community. They work to ensure the children and young people with SEND in their area receive the right support in their educational activities. Please click on this link  to see what is available for this Autumn term in our area.

Mr C Bloomfield

Literacy News

LRC NEWS

During October we celebrate Black History Month. The L.R.C. has a fantastic range of books on black history and black lives, past and present. Come and be inspired! Students are welcome to browse the shelves at break, lunch, before or after school, or reserve books on mysandstorm - Accessit Learning Resource Centre. Our team of knowledgeable librarians are always here to help.  

Miss E Critchley

WORD OF THE WEEK TRANSLATED

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine- L’élan

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche- Der Antrieb

SPANISH: La palabra de la semana- El momento

Thinking Questions

  • What are the effects of globalisation on the languages spoken across the world?
  • Why does German capitalise its nouns
Miss F Baikie

SANDRINGHAM READS: THINGS FALL APART

This week’s ‘Book of the Week’ is  a worldwide bestseller and the first part of Achebe's African Trilogy. ‘Things Fall Apart’ is the compelling story of one man's battle to protect his community against the forces of change

Okonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive, and his fame spreads throughout West Africa like a bush-fire in the harmattan. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance he can only hurtle towards tragedy.

First published in 1958, Chinua Achebe's novel reshaped both African and world literature, and has sold over ten million copies in forty-five languages. This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe's landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, and is most suitable for students in Year 11 and above.

Ms K Bulbeck

Word of the Week

M is for momentum [noun]

Definition: Force or speed of movement.

Example: The push to recognize the contributions of the Latinx community gained momentum throughout the 1960s.

Synonyms: Energy, Power, Strength

Antonyms: Weakness

Etymology: From the Latin ‘momentum’ meaning movement or moving power.

PE News

FOOTBALL

On Monday the Y10 boys football team played in the ESFA Elite Cup V Richard Hale. It was a very strong Hale side with a number of omissions from our line up through injury. After conceding first we fought back to level the scores just before half time and were creating a number of chances, however a defensive error meant we went in to the break behind. After the restart it was a very difficult task as Hale asserted their dominance on the game and took the victory 5-1. The boys bounced back from this however, with a spirited and rotated team display v Haberdashers in a friendly. The team performed well taking victory 5-2. The B team also had their first fixture of the season V Habs, again demonstrating how their new training regime is paying off and won 4-2 with goals from Luca H, Jack R, Dean B and Matthew H. We also visited Habs on Tuesday with our Y8A and B boys football teams. The A team were solid and took the win 5-3 with goals from Anton R, Tyler S, and Shaun U, whilst the B team were excellent winning 4-0 through Kaden R, Leon R and Nathan W. The B team then returned to action the following day V Forest School in their ESFA first round fixture. They again played superbly seeing off our hosts 4-0 to seal a spot in the last 64 B teams in the country.

Our girls' football has also made a great start to the year. On Thursday our U13 team played their County Cup 1st round match V Monks Walk. Very rarely do we get a player come through the school who is so dominant in a team, however Jasmine R in Y8 is just this player. She scored 7 on Thursday to lead the team to an 8-1 victory and impressed all that saw her performance. Well done Jasmine.

Well done also to the 80+ boys who represented the school last Saturday morning  in our annual block football fixture vs Aldenham including 6 fixtures across age groups. It was a great morning of football with honours shared as we won 3 and Aldenham won 3. Our 7A, 8 and 10 boys won, whilst 7B, 9 and our 1st XI lost. This week sees us switch to rugby for Saturday V Samuel Ryder.

Mr A Cracknell

NETBALL

The Y10 girls played their first round County Cup Netball match on Monday V Royal Masonic school and performed well matching our visitors for three out of four quarters. RMS were that bit more clinical when it came to shooting and took more of their chances to win the match 26-22.

Mr A Cracknell

RUGBY

The Y10 boys, having been very busy this week also got their competitive rugby season off to a great start in their 1st round Natwest Vase matchup with Parmiters school. We travelled to Watford for the game and did superbly. With very little rugby having been played and a developing side the boys exceeded expectations winning the match 22-15 and earning a spot in round 2 V St.Columba’s College.

Mr A Cracknell

UPCOMING FIXTURES

Saturday 2nd October

Y8-10 Rugby V Samuel Ryder

Monday 4th October

U14/16 District Badminton Tournaments @ Verulam

Y10 Basketball V Roundwood Park (H)

Y9 Football V Onslow (A)

Y8 Netball V St. Edmund’s College (A)

Tuesday 5th October

Y10 Football V Beaumont (A)

1st XV Natwest Vase Rd 2 V Hitchin (A)

Wednesday 6th October

Y7 Football V Goffs (H)

Y8 Football V UCL Academy (H)

Y9 Girls Football V City of London Academy (H)

Y11 Girls Football V Barclay (A)

Thursday 7th October  

Y11B Football V Samuel Whitbread (A)

Y10 Football V Stockwood (H)

 Y11 Netball V Royal Masonic (H)

Y8 Hockey V Royal Masonic (A)

Friday 8th October

Regional Girls Swimming Gala @ Woodside, Watford

Saturday 9th October

County Netball Tournament @ Stanborough School

Mr A Cracknell

BASKETBALL

The Y10boys basketball team got the league season off to a start with their fixture away at Beaumont. In recent years, this fixture has always been close and despite almost two years of not being played, again- it did not disappoint. The first half was tight with little to choose between the teams, but Beaumont pulled away in the second half to take the win 48-32. A great effort from our boys however. 

Mr A Cracknell

CROSS COUNTRY

We again took part in the District XC league on Thursday. This week Verulam hosted and our students again put in a very strong showing. The results are yet to be shared but a string of wins and podium places for our students is something we should not take for granted but definitely becoming habitual at the moment. We look forward to next week’s District champs, followed by the County round of the English School’s Cup.

For more news, fixtures, team sheets and results don’t forget to follow us @SandringhamPE on Twitter and at www.sandringhamsport.co.uk

Mr A Cracknell

Sandpit Theatre

Thursday 14th October & Sunday 31st October 7pm - The V&A Presents Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser

The V&A presents Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser, an exclusive private view of the ‘hugely enjoyable and thought-provoking exhibition’ (★★★★★The Guardian) at the V&A in London, filmed especially for the big screen.

Take a guided tour ‘down the rabbit hole’ with the V&A Curator Kate Bailey and presenter Andi Oliver as the documentary explores how Alice has become an enduring icon, influencing successive generations and inspiring creativity in fashion, film, photography and on the stage.

Tickets: £16 / £13

Miss A Carter-Downing

Welcome to our 20th anniversary year as we celebrate The SandPit Theatre turning 20 years old this December!

We can’t wait to see you back through our doors and we have some exciting shows and films coming up for you this season!

All the latest performances are on our website, www.sandpittheatre.co.uk, and you can keep up to date with what’s going on by giving us a follow either on Instagram & Twitter or give us a like on Facebook, just search for The SandPit Theatre!

Miss A Carter-Downing

We now sell and accept Theatre Tokens! You can use these tokens to purchase tickets for any of our shows or buy them as gifts to be used at over 260 venues nationwide and in the West End all while supporting theatres including us!

Following Government guidelines, you must wear a face covering while attending The SandPit Theatre and must present a valid NHS COVID Pass or proof of a Negative Lateral Flow Test if aged over 18, unless you are exempt as stated in these guidelines. If you do not wear a mask or do not have a valid NHS Covid Pass/Lateral Flow Test result, you will be refused entry and your ticket will be forfeited.

Our Bar will be open during these performances for drinks and snacks but please note we will only be accepting card payments. Alcohol is available for sale 30 minutes before the shows begin. The box office is open from 11.30am – 3.30pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Alternatively, you can call us on 01727 799565 or visit www.sandpittheatre.co.uk

Miss A Carter-Downing

Saturday 12th February – Spontaneous Potter 2:30pm (8+) & 7:30pm (16+)

Grab your wands, don your house robes, and apparate yourselves to the box office! A very magical improv show awaits...

The smash hit Spontaneous Potter is an entirely improvised Harry Potter comedy play, based on an audience suggestion of a fanfiction title. Hilarity ensues as an entirely new Potter adventure is magically improvised on the spot - with live musical accompaniment!

Running Time: 60 minutes

Tickets: 2:30pm - £12 / £10 or 7:30pm - £16 / £14

Miss A Carter-Downing

Sunday 7th November 3pm – Raphael Revealed

Marking the 500th anniversary of Raphael’s death, the greatest exhibition ever held of his works took place in Rome. Exhibition on Screen was granted exclusive access to this once-in-a-lifetime show.  With over two hundred masterpieces, including paintings and drawings – over a hundred of which have been brought together for the first time – this major exhibition celebrates the life and work of Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino.

More than just a painter, Raphael was one of the most extraordinary artists of the Renaissance but is often misunderstood or mythologised.  On the basis of this extraordinary exhibition in Rome, this film allows Raphael, for the first time, to be truly revealed.

Tickets £7/5

Miss A Carter-Downing

Thursday 18th November – Saturday 20th November 7:30pm & Saturday Matinée 2:30pm - The Sound of Music

The inspirational story, based on the memoir of Maria Augusta Trapp, follows an ebullient postulate who serves as governess to the seven children of the imperious Captain von Trapp, bringing music and joy to the household. But as the forces of Nazism take hold of Austria, Maria and the entire von Trapp family must make a moral decision.

This amateur production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. 

www.concordtheatricals.co.uk

Tickets £10 & £7

Miss A Carter-Downing

Saturday 30th October – 11:30am - Old McDonald and the Three Pigs Plus…

‘Old McDonald and the Three Pigs Plus…’ weaves the well-known story of the Three Pigs with the easy to learn rhyme Old McDonald Had A Farm.  Featuring a 5m wide book with 2m pop ups, bright colourful pages, and lots of silly animal props.

The Three Pigs are fed up with singing “Eee aye eee aye oh!” every day and bravely decide to move away from Old McDonald’s farm.  Join the kind farmer and all their animal friends in helping the little pigs build homes of their own, but beware, the big bad Wolf is on the prowl.  Can you help save the day and stop the wolf blowing all the pigs hard work away?

A colourful and fun interactive show, full of props, pop ups and audience participation!  The children help identify farm produce, sing, and take part as the animals on the farm. Tickets £7/£5  or Family ticket (4) £20

Miss A Carter-Downing